Design, fabrication, and modification of cost-effective nanostructured TiO2 for solar energy applications

Abstract

One of the greatest challenges for human society and civilization is the development of powerful technologies to harness renewable solar energy to satisfy the ever-growing energy demands. Semiconductor nanomaterials have important applications in the field of solar energy conversion. Among these, TiO2 represents one of the most promising functional semiconductors and is extensively utilized in photoelectrochemical applications, including photocatalysis (e.g., H2 generation from water splitting) and photovoltaics (e.g., dye-sensitized solar cells, DSSCs). As such, many efforts have focused on developing and exploiting cost-effective nanostructured TiO2 materials for efficient solar energy applications.